UK - David Cameron has attacked the “interference” and “bossiness” of Brussels bureaucrats but said the “beating heart of Britain” knows we need to remain in the European Union. Hinting strongly that he will offer a referendum on the UK’s relationship with Europe the Prime Minister said the British people must be involved in a “proper debate” about the EU. Mr Cameron is preparing to make a speech next week setting out Britain’s relationship with the EU and is expected to promise a future referendum. He is expected to set out plans to repatriate some powers from Brussels to Britain – and then give the public a vote on whether they back the new relationship. This is likely to happen in 2017 or 2018.
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - The head of manuscripts at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Najeh Bkeirat, has accused Israel of trying to "Judaize" the Temple Mount by building a new Holy Temple. Speaking on January 4 to the Palestine journal, which is affiliated with the Hamas terrorist group, Bkeirat claimed that "the construction of the false Temple is closer than ever before." Bkeirat claimed in the interview that an analysis of Jerusalem's development plans finds there is an intention to Judaize the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and within this framework build the Temple on its ruins and to then reduce the number of Arab residents in the city.
NORTH KOREA - North Korea vowed on Monday to strengthen its defences amid concerns the country may conduct a nuclear test as a follow-up to last month's long-range rocket launch. Citing US hostility, Pyongyang's foreign ministry said in a memorandum that North Korea will "continue to strengthen its deterrence against all forms of war". The memorandum carried by state media did not say what action North Korea would take to defend itself. However, North Korea has claimed the right to build atomic weapons to protect itself from the United States, which stations more than 28,000 troops in South Korea. It came as reports said North Korea has informed China that it is planning to conduct the nuclear test this week.
USA - So much for the $1 trillion platinum coin idea. The US Treasury Department said on Saturday it will not produce platinum coins as a way of generating $1 trillion in revenue and avoiding a battle in Congress over raising the US debt ceiling.
USA - Astronomers have discovered the largest known structure in the universe, a clump of active galactic cores that stretches 4 billion light-years from end to end. This particular group is so large that it challenges modern cosmological theory, researchers said. "While it is difficult to fathom the scale of this LQG [Large Quasar Group], we can say quite definitely it is the largest structure ever seen in the entire universe," lead author Roger Clowes, of the University of Central Lancashire in England, said in a statement. "This is hugely exciting, not least because it runs counter to our current understanding of the scale of the universe."
USA - Gabriella Hoffman’s paycheck is a little lighter today, thanks to a payroll tax increase that is forcing millions of Americans to make the kind of tough budget cuts their representatives in Washington seem unwilling to tackle.
USA - US Airways Group Inc (LCC), the carrier seeking to merge with AMR Corp (AAMRQ)’s American Airlines, received more than 16,500 applications for 450 flight attendant positions in its biggest hiring push for the job since 2010. About 700 applicants have advanced to the interview stage and 240 offers have been made, US Airways said yesterday in its weekly employee newsletter. The influx echoes the rush for flight-attendant jobs at Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL), which said last month that its 300 openings attracted 22,000 candidates.
NASA - The surface of the sun erupted in a solar flare early Friday, unleashing a blast of super-heated plasma into space. A huge sunspot known as AR1654 produced the M1-class flare at 4:11 am EST, officials with NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory said in a description of the event.
FRANCE/MALI - French aircraft pounded Islamist rebels in Mali for a second day on Saturday and neighboring West African states sped up their plans to deploy troops in an international campaign to prevent groups linked to al Qaeda expanding their power base. France, warning that the control of northern Mali by the militants posed a security threat to Europe, intervened dramatically on Friday as heavily armed Islamist fighters swept southwards towards Mali's capital Bamako. French President Francois Hollande made clear that France's aim in Mali was to support the West African troop deployment, which is also endorsed by the United Nations, the European Union and the United States.
USA - On his Friday radio show, conservative talker and Fox News host Sean Hannity warned that the United States may fall apart if tax rates remain high. “The states are now fighting and battling against their own federal government,” Hannity said.
WORCESTER, UK - Britons may remember 2012 as the year the weather spun off its rails in a chaotic concoction of drought, deluge and flooding, but the unpredictability of it all turns out to have been all too predictable: Around the world, extreme has become the new commonplace. Especially lately.
UK - The charity is accused of putting a political agenda ahead of the welfare of wild animals after no action was taken against a gang of gypsy men shown hunting, while spending £350,000 to prosecute a fox hunting club linked to David Cameron.
UK - Ramsgate's 'stunning' seaside ambience has been shattered by the loud cries of animal rights protestors. They come to lobby against the legal — but highly controversial — export of live farm animals through the port.
UK - A dozen events featured speakers with links to the fanatical group Hizb ut Tahrir – a controversial organisation banned by the National Union of Students. Extremists were invited to a host of events despite criticism from Theresa May, the Home Secretary, that universities were “complacent” in tackling the risk of radicalisation. The research, by campaign group Student Rights, found a total of 214 university events featured known extremists last year. Last year a report by Student Rights and the Henry Jackson Society warned Islamic extremists were using social networking sites to radicalise students.
UK - George Osborne has issued an ultimatum to the European Union, saying it “must change” in order to avoid a British exit. The Chancellor made the threat despite saying that he still wants Britain to remain a member of the EU.